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Friday, September 30, 2016

The October sub-24, Urja

Sub-24 rode ten or so kilometres of forest paths from Bemböle to Urja. Our first Kiwi enjoyed the wind...

We set off from Bemböle with a total party of four: Lee, Florian, Jorge and I. I wasn’t entirely sure where I was or what I had signed up for but was quite happy to follow along at the mercy of others who seemed to have some sort of vague plan!

We darted through the forest making our way towards Nuuksio, as the sun set and the sky turned a misty shade of blue between the silhouetted trees. As the first New Zealand representative in the group, I felt the pressure was on to keep up with the pace –fortunately Finland has a few less hills than back home and so it was a gentle ride. Eventually we turned off the main track and walked our bikes along a slightly more treacherous pathway to make it to our campsite at Urja.

After nestling our tents and hammocks between the trees before nightfall, we headed on over to a ready-made fire, kindly set up by the girl scouts who arrived before us. (Unfortunately they didn’t care to share their marshmallows with us though!). A wicked wind swept around us as we cooked our delightful dinners and we went to sleep with hopes that the wind would settle in the morning. However, it was not to be. So with tents packed, so we promptly headed off at 9am (out along the road this time) to make our way back to Helsinki before lunch. What an adventure in less than 18 hours! I will certainly be back for more! Rachel, New Zealand